www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, May 17, 2012 · 12 By John Bkila OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Lunch Money Tuesday supports Food for Life It may not be much of a surprise that bakeries, grocery stores and restaurants usually toss out food and goods that are slightly damaged, mislabelled, discontinued stock, or in surplus. In 1995, Oakville-resident George Bagaco would notice a local bakery throw out baked goods at the end of the day, even if they were still in relatively good condition. Recognizing the increasing number of individuals and families in Oakville in need of fresh, nutritious food, Bagaco decided to do what he could to help. Every day he would stop at the bakery on his way home from work and fill his trunk with baked goods to deliver to the families in need in his community. His food-recovery program, called Food for Life Canada, grew -- as he began delivering to other neighbourhoods with the support of the Rotary Clubs, which donated a vehicle, and Kerr Street Ministries, which provided warehouse space -- to the point where the organization hired its first staff members: a driver for the delivery van and a part-time executive director to help oversee operations. Seventeen years later, the Food for Life program has expanded to two warehouse locations in Oakville and Burlington, and assists 40 community agencies and 36 neighbourhood outK a r a s t a n A r e a R u g s NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog VOLUNTEER CONNECTIONS: Volunteer George Duross helps to sort food collected by Food for Life at St. Jude's Anglican Church on a Wednesday afternoon. The food will then be delivered to 35 families living in community housing in the Margaret and Maurice drives area. reach programs in Halton to help feed 20,000 clients, including individuals and families. "We don't just bring food, it's an opportunity for people to come together and get to know their neighbours and about other community services," said Charlotte Redekop-Young, execu· M i r a g e H a r d w o o d tive director at Food for Life. Presently, Food for Life has two major programs in operation to help those in need in Halton eat and live healthier lives. Working closely with Halton Public Health to make sure food safety guidelines are followed, the food-recovery program collects surplus, perishable, fresh food from grocery stores, restaurants and the corporate food sector and delivers them the same day. "There is very little warehousing," said Redekop-Young. "Because it's so perishable, it must move very quickly." The second program, launched in 2008, is called Refresh Foods, where the organization collects close-to-code, surplus, damaged, mislabelled items or discontinued stock from the corporate food sector and redistributes to the 21 community agencies part of the program. All the food collected for this program is inventoried and at the end of the week is delivered to its member agencies. "Since everything's inventoried, it's sent on a food offer to those 21 members, meaning they can order what suits them best," Redekop-Young said. "These members can include food banks, school-nutrition programs, and churches that hold community dinners." In 2010-11, Food for Life Canada distributed more than one million pounds (more than 450,000 kilograms) of food, all donated, which would have otherwise gone to waste in a landfill -- the total had a retail value of over $4 million. Acting as a complement to food banks, Redekop-Young says Food for Life has come to fill a gap in giving those in need fresh, perishable food they might not otherwise receive from See Lunch page 16 Peerless Carpeting · Buyers Edge Guarantee · 200 Store Buying Power P e r s i a n NOW ON SALE kville Just Arrived in Oa R u g s SmartStrand Silk by The Only Luxuriously Soft Carpet with Built-in Stain & Soil Protection $ 4.99 /sq.ft. Starting at Oakville Executive Golf Course 18 Hole Mystic Ridge 4414 Fourth Line at Lower Base Line Road, Oakville Includes green fee, dinner, prizes Thursday, June 7, 2012 at the · P e e r l e s s including Installation & Memory Foam Underpad PEERLESS COMFORT CARPETING $115 per golfer C a r p e t i n g Shot Gun Start at 8 am Golf Carts Available (fee) If you aren't golfing, please join us for Lunch at 12:30 at the CARPET & AREA RUGS FLOORSFIRST 200 STORE BUYERS EDGE GUARANTEE Oakville Executive Golf Center Cost for lunch only is $35 per person · 2 0 0 S t o r e B u y i n g Golf-Prizes-Games-Beer/Wine Tasting Dinner-Silent Auction For more information or registration, call 905-634-2333 or email: lstevenson@breastcancersupport.org NO #1 RATED HARDWOOD HARDWOOD HARDWOOD SUPERSTORE P o w e r FOLLOWING LOCATIONS ONLY: 125 Cross Ave. TRAFALGAR VILLAGE OAKVILLE · 905-849-4472 Mirage Hardwood · Karastan Carpeting · 228 KING ST. E. Hamilton · 905-546-1921 Persian Rugs